Google could use Irish chip to create a standalone VR headset

Recently it emerged that Google was working on a successor to Cardboard that would have a solid plastic casing and bring serious competition to the Gear VR headsets created by Samsung, as well as Oculus Rift.

But now it seems that Google is also working on a standalone VR product that won’t need to be tethered to a smartphone, games console or PC to function.

If the VR experiences are top quality, this could be a game-changer in a market where high-end PC-based VR headsets will be pretty pricey. Oculus this week began taking orders for the Oculus Rift PC bundles at prices ranging from $1,499 up to $3,000.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Google plans to compete intensely in a market that will see other rivals reveal headsets this year, including Sony, Microsoft and HTC.

VR platform war is virtually upon us

Google is assembling the technologies and the people to make it a force to be reckoned with in VR and, last month, the company named Clay Bavor its first virtual reality chief and it has a guiding principle of making VR available for everyone, not just the well-heeled.

One of the people familiar with the matter said the headset will include a screen, high-powered processors and outward-facing cameras.

It reported that Google plans to use chips from Irish start-up Movidius Inc that use the cameras’ feeds to track the motion of the user’s head.

This could be revolutionary because other high-end headsets, like the Oculus Rift, tap the computing power of connected PCs and use external cameras to track users’ motion.